ANCA Hovig Apo Saghdejian Program Advisory Committee and alumni welcome the Winter 2018 class to Washington on the first evening of the session (Photo: ANCA)

WASHINGTON—The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) kicked off its 2018 youth empowerment agenda by welcoming the latest Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway (CGP) class, a group of talented recent graduates committed to launching professional careers in Washington’s competitive public policy job market. Six out of six of the Fall 2017 fellows are working professionally in the Washington, D.C. policy sector, five having already secured permanent full-time positions.

“There are few better ways to start a new year than helping goal-oriented recent graduates secure career opportunities in our nation’s capital,” remarked ANCA Program Director Tereza Yerimyan. “We are proud of the success of our fellows over the course of the past year and are encouraged by the participation of our alumni as seminar leaders and mentors, furthering the career opportunities for our fellows.”

Fall 2017 fellow Areni Margossian discussed the vital role the CGP played in her successful Washington, D.C. job search, sharing her experiences in a video encouraging students and recent graduates to explore opportunities in the nation’s capital. “From the ANCA staff to the CGP Advisory Committee, this program is filled with the most genuine and dedicated people who only want to see you succeed,” said Margossian in her video, available at anca.org/Areni and below.

With the arrival of the Winter, 2018 class, Yerimyan and the CGP Advisory Committee coordinated two weeks of intensive seminars focusing on resume development, cover letter writing, interviewing and networking skills, culminating in a “meet and greet” mixer with D.C. area professionals. CGP fellows are now in the process of applying to jobs on Capitol Hill, with think tanks and a range of policy consulting companies.

Looking to Fall 2018, Yerimyan joined ANCA-WR Communications Coordinator Dickran Khodanian, a CGP program alumnus, at a leadership retreat organized by the All-Armenian Student Associations (All-ASA) at AYF Camp Big Pines. Yerimyan and Khodanian led a professional development workshop, outlining how the ANCA-WR’s Walter and Laurel Karabian Fellowship in Sacramento, Calif., the ANCA-WR internship in Los Angeles as well as the CGP and Leo Sarkisian Summer Internship Programs in Washington, D.C. can offer opportunities to explore conventional and unconventional careers in policy, politics and media. They also offered a “how to advocate on campus” seminar—leading discussions on how to effectively advance Armenian American concerns at universities.